This invention relates to a bowling lane including a wooden bowling lane, a varnish layer, and a dimethylpolysilozane conditioning layer.
In the past, many bowling lanes were conditioned by oil placed on top of the varnish.
Bowling lane conditioning or dressing of lanes is important in bowling. Since friction is an ever-present factor in bowling, the constant roll of the bowling ball would quickly reduce an unconditioned wooden lane to splinters and chips. The wood would burn. Conditioning cannot be haphazard. In the past almost every bowling center oiled all lanes to inhibit wear and tear.
The application of the dressing, how the oil is placed on the lane, and where it is put down, and when, and its thickness, and the way the lane is polished (buffed) after its application are vital factors in a bowler's performance. If, for instance, the oil is appplied in such a manner as to leave some portions of the lane drier than another portion, the ball would grab quicker on the dry surface and the ball will hook.
Lanes are conditioned just over the foul line to a line from 20 to 40 feet beyond the foul line. No oil is applied beyond that point (40 feet) as a general rule, but that is not to say that no oil moves over the lane closer to the pins (60 feet from the foul line). The bowling ball will pick up oil on its constant path to the pins and deposit some of the picked up oil further than the point where the machine initially stops putting the oil down on the lane.
In that 20 to 40-foot conditioned area the ball will be in its skid, for it is virtually impossible to get it to start hooking toward the pocket. When the lane is used the oil shifts or breaks down. The lanes play differently each time the bowling ball is thrown on a lane conditioned by prior art materials.